


Mistletoe and Holly

by Leif Writes (FrankensteinsMomster)



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Good Parent Gil Arroyo, Malcolm Bright is emotionally constipated, Short One Shot, The team gives their relationship a little nudge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:48:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23287321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrankensteinsMomster/pseuds/Leif%20Writes
Summary: He was comfortable with their level of casual flirting. Comfortable with her in general. She wasn’t afraid of flirting with him or being around him like so many others in his life had been. She never had been. She was always genuine and honest and Malcolm appreciated that about her. And he was comfortable around her. She understood his morbid humor like no one else did.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright/Edrisa Tanaka
Comments: 12
Kudos: 91





	Mistletoe and Holly

**Author's Note:**

  * For [robinwritesallthethings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/robinwritesallthethings/gifts).



> You're probably wondering why I'm posting a Christmas fic in March. 
> 
> In December I was part of a Prodigal Son fic swap. The organizer disappeared before reveling to our partners who wrote them and recently deactivated their Tumblr. I finally contacted my giftee a few days ago so I could post and gift this to them here. 
> 
> Anyhoo, it's out of season but I hope y'all enjoy a little Maldresa Christmas cheer in these scary times.

The days were getting shorter, colder, and more filled with the sounds of the holidays. Malcolm tugged on his jacket, attempting to pull it even tighter around him wishing he had opted for a heavier coat. He hadn’t planned on leaving his couch where he had been cozily wrapped in a mound of blankets but when the call came from Gil telling him to come quickly he had left without putting much thought into the cold snap that hit the night before.

And of course, the body was outside, partially submerged in a frozen pond. He grimaced, nodding to Danni, J.T., and Gil. Why couldn’t it have been left somewhere warmer? Preferably somewhere with a heater and access to hot chocolate.

“Take my jacket,” he looked to Edrisa who seemed just as surprised as he was by her offer. He had been so wrapped I’ll in his thoughts he hadn’t noticed her arrival but she had noticed his shivering. Of course, she did. Edrisa was observant, especially when it came to him. He smiled and started to form an argument against taking her jacket but she didn’t wait for his reply.

“I’m wearing a sweater under this and I like my jackets to fit a little big and you’re,” she looked him up and down for a moment, “very fit so mine would probably fit you fine.” He nodded.

“Thanks, Edrisa.” He was comfortable with their level of casual flirting. Comfortable with her in general. She wasn’t afraid of flirting with him or being around him like so many others in his life had been. She never had been. She was always genuine and honest and Malcolm appreciated that about her. And he was comfortable around her. She understood his morbid humor like no one else did. 

This is why he was in complete shock that after taking off her jacket, helping him put it on and unnecessarily zipping it up for him, she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“There,” she said with her usual cheery smile, “Much better, right?” She smiled and turned to the rest of the team and began to fill them in on what she had learned about the body. J.T. and Dani were both on the verge of breaking out in laughter, the look on Malcolm’s face was just too perfect. Even Gil had a smirk on his face.

Oh, he thought. OH, he realized. The dilation of her pupils, the care in her eyes, the way her body always naturally leaned towards his. This wasn’t just harmless flirting. Not to her. He did a quick read of his own emotions. The ones he usually kept locked away. How did he really feel about Edrisa? For a man of such intelligence and insight into the human psyche, he often amazed himself with how Truly dense he could be. He felt his cheeks with his hands, he couldn’t remember the last time he had blushed like this.

She finished talking and smiled at him and he felt his heart skip a beat. As she walked away he watched her, his mouth still agape. He realized that he hadn’t heard a word of what she had said about the body.

…

It had been a long few days. They’d caught the killer but if he was being honest his heart hadn’t been in it. He was too busy repeating the moment Edrisa stepped toward him and brushed her lips against his cheek. Could it even be considered a kiss? Some cultures kissed cheeks in a familiar way. It had only lasted a moment but when he closed his eyes he could still feel the warmth her lips had left.

He unlatched his restraints and grabbed his phone, calling the number before he really thought of what he was going to say. It rang only once before he picked up.

“Hey Malcolm, you doing okay? Do you need me to pick you up?” The man sounded tired, he looked at the phone, the time blinking out 2:45 am. He winced at his thoughtlessness.

“No, it’s okay it’s nothing like that. I’m sorry Gil this was dumb. I’ll call you tomorrow. Today. Later on at a more reasonable hour.”

“Bright, you have me on the phone now. Might as well tell me what’s on your mind.”

He sighed and tried to gather his thoughts. He felt the heat rising in his cheeks and butterflies in his stomach as it had many times over the last few days in a way it hadn’t since he was a teenager.

“Is this about Edrisa?” Gil asked. Malcolm groaned.

“Is it that obvious?”

They spoke until the sky was tinged with pink. His mind finally feeling less flustered. He had a plan, part of a plan at least and once he attempted to get a few hours of sleep he would move forward with it.

…

He stepped into the morgue. At least he thought it was the morgue. He stepped out again, checking the door and stepped back in. It was like stepping into a completely different world. The usual cold steel room had turned into Santa’s workshop. Every inch was covered in twinkling lights, images of jolly old Saint Nick, and carefully crafted bows. There were gingerbread men and tiny villages with children ice skating. He couldn’t say he was surprised. If there was anyone who could bring joy to dark places it was her.

“So, what do you think?” she asked. Edrisa stood up from behind the table which he now realized held a body bag wrapped in sparkly wrapping paper and tied with a bow.

“Honestly it looks a bit like Santa threw up in here but I say that in the best possible way,” she smiled wide and he felt his heart swell. “I wanted to talk to you actually. I haven’t had a chance to see you since the body in the pond,” he trailed off, trying to gather his words and sound as charming as he had planned to.

“Oh! That! Yes, I’ve been meaning to speak to you about that,” the words tumbled out of her mouth and Malcolm couldn’t help but smile. He loved the way she got when she was flustered. “You looked so cold. And I was practically sweating. And J.T. had dared me to-”

His face dropped. Dared. Had he really misread the situation that poorly? Of course, it had been a dare. Why else would she have done it? He bit the inside of his cheek and forced himself to smile again.

“Oh! No, no, no, no! That’s not what I meant! I mean yes J.T. did dare me but not to kiss you! He dared me to make the first move. Something about you being dense and him being tired of us flirting in front of all of these bodies.”

His heart ached from the emotional whiplash. He had never been happier to be wrong. He took a step closer to Edrisa.

“One thing I particularly like about your decoration is your use of mistletoe,” he pointed to the greenery above her. He took another step closer and brushed a stray hair behind her ear and ran his thumb across her jawline before pressing his lips against hers for a quick moment.

“Actually that’s holy,” she sighed, “it’s a common misconception.”

“I know, I was trying to be romantic,” he laughed and kissed her again while wrapping his arms around her. Her lips were soft, as soft as he had always thought they’d be

…

“They do realize there’s a giant window here and we can see them” J.T. gestured to Dani.

“It’s your own fault for pushing them. We might have gotten another whole year before he realized what was happening.”


End file.
